The Lonely ParadeLawnya Vawnya, St. John's NL, May 23

Partway through the Lonely Parade's set, guitarist Augusta Veno apologized for her guitar playing, claiming that she was no longer as good at her instrument as she was a couple of years ago.

She needn't have worried. The Montreal-based band's performance at the Ship — their second Lawnya Vawnya gig of the evening — was full of thrumming bass lines, technical guitar skronk, and shouty sing-speak. Which is to say that the Lonely Parade are a classic-sounding post-punk band, and a good one.

With the songs anchored by Frank Climenhage's tireless beats, Veno and bassist Charlotte Dempsey traded off on lead vocals, and they toed the line between catchy and abrasive on the standout scorcher "Not Nice." They even paid tribute to their previous visit to St. John's by performing "Newfoundland," a loving tribute to the titular province.

So really, the only downside to the whole thing was the self-deprecating banter, which put a bit of a downer on what was otherwise a satisfyingly loud, cathartic set.